Clothes washing machine



Oct. 10, 1933.- A. H. LABISKY CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE Filed July 16, 1952 [Sheets-Sheet 1 five/27072: MW 7% or '0, 1933. A. H. LABISKY CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE Filed July 16, 1932 2 Shoots-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 10, 1933 I CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE Arthur H. Labisky, West Bend, Wis., assignor to The Barton Corporation, West Bend, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application July is, 1932. Serial No. 622,865

s (c1. ass-45) This invention relates to clothes washing machines of the household type wherein the water is set in motion by an agitator to effect cleans of clothes submerged in the water. v

One of the objects of my invention is to wise the water to flow in an unusual manner to loosely collect the clothes in ring-like formation and to;

- induced by the agitator to increase the force and alter the direction of flow of the water to main!- tain the clothes in loose condition to expedite the a cleansing thereof.

. ed for use in washing machines of the kind.

Other objects are to provide a novel tub adaptwherein a centrally disposed agitator operating about a vertical axis is employed; and to provide portions in the tub for increasing the efiectiveon the shaft '17 meshes with a spur gear 19 ro-I ness of the water action in the tub.

In the selected embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical section of my washing machine;

Fig. 2 is a top plan wherein the tub lid is removed and certain parts are broken away;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of the wall of the tub; and

Fig. 4 is a view taken substantially on the line 44 on Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the machine includes a base or stand Shaving a circular band 6 and an inturned flange 7 which provides a seat 8 and the rounded lower edge of the tub is rested on the seat. A rubber ring 9 closes the joint between the seat 8 and the tub 10. The driving mechanisms for the machine are mounted in a housing 11 carried by'the base beneath the tub.

- a pulley 18' fast on the shaft 1'! jdurnaled in the bearings 12 on the housing 11. A pinion 18 fast tatable on the shaft 20 fastin the boss 13. A spur gear 21 meshes with the spur gear19 and is mounted on the shaft 22 fast in boss 14. The cover 23 of the housing has a neck 24 and the lower end of a sleeve 25 is secured in this neck. The upper end of the sleeve is secured to a bracket 26 carried by the tub 10. A wringer gear housing 2'7 of approved form including a clutch mechanism for operating the wringer is mounted on the bracket 26. Ahub 29 on the gear 21 projects into the lower end of the sleeve 25, the lower end of a shaft 30 is detachably connected to the hub, and this shaft extends through the sleeve to the wringer clutch mechanism.- "When the motor is set in operation, the pihion' 18'drives gear 19 which rotates gear 21 and the shaft 30 and when the clutch mechanism is engaged, the wringer is operated. A shaft 31 is fast in the boss 15 and a segment 32 is rockable about this shaft. One end of a link 33 is pivotally connected at 34 to the segment 32 and the other end of the link is pivotally connected to the gear 19 at 35. When the gear 19 rotates, a reciprocatory movement is imparted to the link 33 which oscillates the segment 32. The lower end of the shaft 36 is journaled in a bearing 23' on the housing 11 and a pinion 37 is secured to this shaft and is meshed with the segment 32. As the segment 32 oscillates movement is transmitted through pinion 37 to shaft 36 and preferably the ratio between the segment and pinion is such that a movement through an are slightly more than one hundred andeighty degrees is imparted to the shaft 36. The shaft 36 extends through a thimble 38 which projects through an opening in the bottom wall of the tub. The thimble includes a flange 39, and a washer 40 is disposed between this flange and the bottom of the tub. A sleeve 41 unitary with the cover 23 is screw threaded at its upper end. and the lower end of the thimble engages these screw threads, a washer 42 being interposed between the bottom of. the tub and the end of this sleeve. When the thimble is tightly fitted in this screw-threaded end of the sleeve, the washers 40 and 42 are clamped and leakage through the opening in the bottom of the tub is prevented. The thimble is unitary with a stem'43 that projects upwardly from the bottom wall of the tub at the center thereof. The shaft 36 extends through the stem 43 and has a polygonal portion 44 at the upper end thereof disposed beyond the end of the bore in the stem. The agitator 45 herein illustrated embodies a sleeve 46 having a bearing portion 47 including a bore embracing the bearing 48 adjacent the upper end of thestem 43. The lower end of the bearing portion 4'1 rests on a bearing collar 49 unitary with the stem 43. A bearing collar is provided on the stem 43 intermediate the thimble 38 and the bearing collar 49 and a bearing 51' in the sleeve 46 rides on the periphery of this bearing collar. The collar 49 supports the agitator in the tub and the bearing 48 and the bearing collar 50 guide the agitator during oscillation to prevent wobbling or other undesired movement thereof. A clutch 51 is provided for connecting the agitator 45 to the shaft 36 and includes a clutch member 52 having a polygonal opening 53 therein and which is slidable along the polygonal end portion 44. A retaining ring 54 secures the clutch member 52 on the upper end of sleeve 46 and a knob 55 is provided on the clutch member to facilitate movement thereof across the ring. A peripheral shoulder 56 on the clutch member is movable between the upper end of the sleeve 46 anda flange on the ring 54 to limit movement of the clutch member. Diametrically opposed recesses 57 are provided in the upper end of sleeve 46, and diametrically positioned lugs 58 are provided on the lower end of the clutch member 52. When the knob 55 is grasped and the clutch member 52 is forced down- 'wardly, thelugs 58 seat in the recesses 57 and .to releasably retain the clutch member in the lowerposition whereat the shaft 36 and the agitator are interconnected or the upper position whereat the agitator and shaft are disconnected. The lower end of the sleeve 46 is enlarged by being flared outwardly and the peripheral edge of this flared portion is positioned substantially midway between the stem 43 and the periphery of the tub and close to the bottom of the tub to prevent clothes passing between the agitator and the tub bottom. Vertical radially extending fins project from the outwardly flared por-. tions of the sleeve 46 and these fins are spaced at ninety degree intervals. The finsor water moving members 60 are in the nature of flat plates and the outer upper corners thereof are rounded and the inner upper corners thereof merge into the sleeve at approximately the beginning of the flared portion of said sleeve. The upper edge of the tub is rolled to provide a bead 61 and below the bead the wall of the tub is crimped to provide a flange 62. The lid 63 includes a depending .fiange 64 which rests on the bead 61 and the flange 62 to support the lid in tub-closing position. In use the tub is substantially two-thirds filled with saponifled water and after use this water is drained from the tub through the drain pipe 65, normally closed by the cock 66. The foregoing is the preferred form of construction with which my invention is used but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to use with a machine'constructed in the foregoing manner and changes may be made without departing from the purview of the invention. 4

The clothes to be washed are thrown into the tub and submerged-in the. water therein. The machine is set in operation and-the fiow of water, as hereafter described, causes the clothes to collect in loose and substantially ring-like forma tion between the sleeve 46 and the tub wall.

During the operation of the machine the whole body of water is caused to flow in an unusual manner to effect thorough cleansing of the clothes. When the agitator is oscillated'in the manner described, the 'water in the horizontal zone of the fins is caused to flow tangentially of the agitator toward the wall of the tub and upon engagement with the tub wall, this water flows upwardly along the wall. Movement of the agi tator in one direction also aifects the body of water in the tub to impart a circumferential movement thereto, horizontally across the tub wall,and this movement is superimposed on the upflow with the result that the water, and particularly that water adjacent the tub wall, tends to flow in a helical manner, the axis of the helix being the center of oscillation of the agitator. As the agitator attains the end of its oscillatory movement in one direction and starts to move in the other direction the tendency toward helical fiow in this direction collapses and is immediately re-created in the other direction. To name the clothes to collect in substantially ring-like formation and to maintain the collected clothes in loose condition to expedite the cleansing thereof and to cause relative movement of the clothes in the formation, I form in the wall of the tub inwardly directed protuberances 67 and intermediate thereof I form depressions 6'7 of a size equal or substantially equal to the protuberances. The alternate protuberances and depressions smoothly merge one into the other and the upper and lower ends thereof are spaced from the top and bottom of the tub and smoothly merge into the tub wall, and the protuberances and depressions are entirely free to sharp corners and angles which might have an abrasive effect should the clothes contact therewith. The lower ends of the protuberances and depressions are in substantial alignment with the upper edges of the fins while the upper edges of the protuberances and depressions, merge into the tub wall at or about the height of the upper end of the sleeve 46. The helical flow of water is the resultant of the upflow and the circumferential movement and hence is of appreciable force and as the water adjacent the tub wall flowing in this manner flows over the protuberances 67, it is deflected into the adjacent depressions 67' and flows upwardly through the depressions with appreciable force. A downfiow of water is induced adjacent the sleeve 46 by the forcing of the water in the horizontal zone of the fins toward the tub wall. The forceful flow from the upper ends of the depressions culminates in a crossfiow at. or about the water level and toward the clothes and merges with the downfiow below the water level and adjacent the sleeve 46. The protuberances 67 deflect only that part of the flow adjacent the tub wall and the forceful flow from the depressions culminating in the crossflow is affected by the circumferential back and forth movement of the water with the result thatthe direction of the forceful flow is not, radial but constantly changes with the back and forth movement. The tangential flow of water 1.

toward the tub wall caused by the fins, the upflow at the tub wall, the crossfiow and the downflow suspend the clothes in substantially ring-like formation in the water and without rubbing efiect with parts of the machine. water from the depressions maintains the clothes in loose condition and causes them to move about The forceful flow of in the ring formation so that the clothes are,

moving means extending upwardly from the botfore cleansed uniformly. The constant change in the direction of the forceful flow of water from the depressions also has the effect of maintaining the clothes in loose condition and of causing the clothes to turn over upon themselves which additionally expedites the cleansing thereof and inasmuch as the protuberances deflect the tendency toward a helical flow there is little, if any, tendency toward shifting of the clothes circumferentially in the tub. But inasmuch as the forceful crossflow maintains the clothes in loose con dition and constantly changes the relative position of the clothes, uniform and rapid cleansing is effected by the water action in the tub.

While the invention has been described in connection with an oscillating agitator, it is to be understood that the protuberances and depressions will increase the force of the crossflow irrespective of the manner in which the water flow thereacross is induced.

I claim: 1. In a clothes washing machine, a tub, an operable member in the tub and including. water moving means extending upwardly from the bottom of the tub and adaptedto create a flow of water toward and across the tub Wall, and substantially vertically extending flow deflecting means at the tub wall of rounded configuration horizontally and adapted to induce a forceful flow of water toward the clothes to expedite cleansing thereof, the lower ends of said flow deflecting means being disposed substantially in the horizontal plane of the top of the watermoving means and the upper ends of said flow deflecting means being spaced from the top of the tub.

2. In a clothes washing machine, a substantially cylindrical tub, a substantially medially located agitating member in the tub and including water moving members extending upwardly from thebottom of the tub and adapted to cause the water therein to flow substantially helically in the tub with the center of the helix substantially coin-- cident with the vertical axis of the tub, and sub stantially vertically extending flow deflecting means at the tub wall of. rounded configuration horizontally, said deflecting means inducing a forceful flow of water toward the clothes to expedite cleansing thereof, the lower ends of said flow deflecting means being disposed substantially in the horizontal plane of the top of the water moving members and the upper ends of said flow deflecting means being spaced from the top of the tub.

3. In a clothes washing machine, a substantially cylindrical tub, a substantially medially located. agitating member in the tub and including upstanding water moving members at the bottom ofthe tub, means for oscillating said agitating member whereby the water moving members cause the water in the tub to flow substantially helically first in one direction and then in the other direction with the center of the helixsubstantially coincident with the vertical axis of the tub, and substantially vertically extending flow deflectingmeans at thetub wall of rounded configuration horizontally, said deflecting means inducing a forceful ,flow of Water toward the clothes to expedite cleansing thereof, the lower ends of said flow deflecting means being disposed substantially in the horizontal plane ofthe top of the water moving members and the upper ends of said flow deflecting means being spaced from the top of the tub,

4. In a clothes washing machine, a tub, an operable member in the tub and including water thereof the lower ends of said protuberances and depressions being disposed sabstantially in the horizontal planeof the top of the water moving means and the upper ends of said protuberances and depressions being spaced from the top of the tub.

5. In a clothes washing machine, a substan tially cylindrical tub, a substantially medially located agitating member in the tub and including water moving members extending upwardly from the bottom of the tub and adapted to cause the water therein to flow substantially helically in the tub with the center of the helix substantially coincident with the vertical axis of the tub, and substantially vertically extending alternate protuberances and depressions at the tub wall, and'deflecting the flow to induce a forceful flow of water toward the clothes to expedite cleansing thereof, the lower ends of said protuberances and depressions being disposed substantially in the horizontal plane of the top of the water moving members and the upper ends of said protuberances and depressions being spaced from the top of the tub.

6. In a clothes washing machine, a substantially cylindrical tub, a substantially medially located agitating member in the tub and including upstanding water moving members at the bottom of the tub, means for oscillating said agitating ,member whereby the water moving members cause the water in the tub to flow substantially helically first in one direction substantially circumferentially of the tub and then in the other direction substantially circumferentially of the tub with thelcenter of the helix substantially concident with the vertical axis of thetub, and substantially vertically extending alternate protuberances and depressions at the tub wall and deflecting the flow to'induce a forceful flow of water toward the clothes to expedite cleansing thereof, the lower ends of said protuberances and depressions beingdisposed substantially in the horizontal plane of the top of the water moving members and the upper ends of said protuberances and depressions being spaced from the top .of the tub.

equal size at the tub wall, the alternate 'protuber- Yances and depressions at the tub wall having the lower ends thereof disposed substantially inthe plane of the top of the upstanding blades on the agitator and having the upper ends thereof spaced from the top of the tub, and means for'imparting an oscillatory movement to the agitator to create a flow of water toward and across the tub wall substantially horizontally in opposite directions uponoscillation of the agitator, the alternate protuberances and depressions in the tub wall deflecting the substantially horizontal flow to induce a forceful upward flow at the tub wall which .turns inwardly and toward the clothes at the upper ends of the protuberances and depressions to expedite cleansing of the clothes.

ard extending upwardly from the bottom of the tub substantially centrally thereof, an agitator mounted on said standard, a shaft extending- 8. In a clothes washing machine, a tub, a standan oscillatory movement to said shaft to oscillate said agitator when it is connected to said shaft whereby the water is caused to flow substantially helically first in one direction substantially circumferentially of the tub and then in the other direction substantially circumferentially of the tub with the center of the helix substantially coincident with the axis of the standard, the alternate protuberances and depressions in the tub wall deflecting the helical flow to induce a forceful upward flow at the tub wall which turns inwardly and toward the clothes at the upper ends of the protuberances and depressions to expedite clean s- 

